Reporting, Rape Culture, and Race: In the Media, Men Are Slaves to Their Own Sexuality

Last week, news broke that police in the small town of Cleveland, Texas, charged 18 men and boys between the ages of 14 and 27 with the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl.

The grisly crime immediately drew headlines from across the country. However, instead of bringing attention to a serious problem—that 50 percent of rapes go unreported—the stories exacerbated the issue by repeatedly accusing the victim of “baiting” her attackers.

The irresponsible reports began with James McKinley’s March 8 story in TheNew York Times, which strongly suggests that the victim provoked the rape. The age-old rapists’ defense of “she was asking for it”—still sadly accepted in the courts, as we addressed last month—reared its ugly head repeatedly in the story (which The Times’ public editor rebuked in his column last Friday). McKinley writes:

Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands—known as the Quarters—said the victim had been visiting various friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said.

The shoddy reporting continues, as McKinley quotes only one resident, who sides with the alleged assailants, asking, “Where was her mother?” To cap it off, McKinley has the gusto to wonder:

If the allegations are proved, how could their young men have been drawn into such an act?

Others followed McKinley’s lead in blaming the victim, as there’s currently a bill on the table in Florida to regulate 11-year-olds’ wardrobes in response to the crime. Its sponsor explains the need for the law by pointing to the fact that the girl “was gang raped … by 18 young men because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute.”

Of course, smaller news outlets also picked up on The Times’ initial report, placing fault squarely on the shoulders of the 11-year-old victim. For instance, The Grio, a news website that caters to the African-American community, began its report on the attack with this lead:

Neighbors said she dressed and acted like a grown woman, that she wore long dark hair and heavy makeup. She “put up” her age, they said, telling the teenage boys she hung out with a local playground that she was 18. Her Facebook page is riddled with status updates that brag about her sexual exploits, smoky nights fueled with liquor.

The Grio’s perverse coverage raises another compelling facet of the story: while the victim is Hispanic, her alleged assailants are African-American, and reaction in the community seems to be divided along racial lines. Some black community leaders, like Minister Quanell X of the New Black Panther Party, have hijacked the story for their own cause. X told the Cleveland community,

I did not come here to jump on an 11-year-old child. I did come to raise some serious questions. If this girl did not live in that neighborhood, at 11 years of age, how was that child in that community experiencing sex with so many African-American men? Where was her mother? Where was her father? … You mean to tell me that the only men in Cleveland, Texas, [who] had sex with that girl are black men who are locked up in the jail? Do you mean to tell me that there is no other race of men in Cleveland that slept with that child, that the black men are so psychologically and morally depraved, with a loss of a moral sense of shame, that they are the only ones who touched her?”

While X is right—there are some important questions that need to be asked about our justice system’s attitudes towards race—this case is not his soapbox for rape stories, and his attitude underlines the fundamental problem in the media’s handling of it. He, The New York Times, and other outlets overlook the main issue—the gruesome crime that this girl endured—in order to tell a story more conducive to their own ends. Race relations are a component in this story, to be sure, but not the heart of it.

The press needs to report the story in a way that reflects the atrocity of the victim’s plight, not point fingers at her and her family in order to explore other problems in our society. An 11-year-old was gang-raped—that alone should be enough to give us pause.

By casting women as “predators” who exploit men through their sexuality, we as a society render men “victims of their own sexuality,” as Akiba Solomon puts it in her excellent analysis of the situation for Color Lines. The stories like McKinley’s, which cropped up the past two weeks, reinforce this dangerous framework, excusing the despicable behavior of men while simultaneously divesting them of any agency.

Solomon once again offers valuable insight into how men can combat this rape culture and assert control of their sexuality. The piece, addressed to black men but applicable to all males, is an example of exactly how we need to respond to such horrendous stories in order to make sure they don’t happen again.

About Sam McCann

Sam McCann is a junior journalism major at Ithaca College who just discovered a field that pays even less than reporting: English. He promptly added it to his course load and now accepts donations. Email him here.

When men decide to stop raping only then wil rape end. every 2 minutes a woman is raped. 99% of rape is perpetrated by men. lets call a 24 hour truce? what a concept! I don’t even know why anybody is even debating this the fact is no matter what age, what gender, what race, or what you are wearing should give anybody the green light to rape you period.

[…] entertain accusations against even a middle school-aged victim speaks volumes to our culture’s inability to place culpability where it really belongs. It’s also very interesting that McKinley chose not to point out that, despite what the […]

As Americans, we criticize Islamic Fundamentalist societies for their treatment of Women. The truth is, we are just as Patriarchal and demeaning toward Women as they are. We rant, rave, and say how terrible it is, when a woman is stoned. We stand upon our moral soapbox and preach how different we are from… them. Are we? When we hear cases of Women being raped and the entire society exclaiming, “if she got raped it was her fault. She must have done something to entice the man.” We watch in horror as the men drag her into the town square,… Read more »

The fact of the matter is, we live a society were consensual acts are routinely called “rape,” even when they bear no resemblance to rape whatsoever. It’s like we all participate in a giant mass delusion, seeing reality right before our eyes but then insisting on calling it something that it is not, and anyone who speaks truth to power must be instantly and violently silenced.

Really Jace? A “free mind” is one that questions social delusion? Or a “free mind” is one that listens to your own version of interpretation of what defines a “delusional” society? Even though you give no real facts to support your claims. Lets not muddy the waters with fake ideologies of what free thinking really is is some twisted attempt to degrade the crime of “rape” by an ideology of what you think is it’s over use. Lets also not muddy the waters about a 11 year old girl’s rape with unethical claims that because there have been cases of… Read more »

No, Erin, I have great respect and sympathy for victims of rape. It’s feminist ideology and its rabid assault on men that has muddied the waters about what rape really is. Though a lot great things have come from feminism, one of the tragedies of feminism is that within its rhetoric it has created a bizarre definition of sexual assault, and from its position of agency it has gone a long way towards making males look like pre-ordained sexual predators. What I propose is that we need to clean the waters by using the ability of a non-rhetorical mind to… Read more »

Why don’t you enlighten us as to what you mean by ‘rape-rape’ vs. not rape?

I’m really curious as to what your definition of rape is.

Mine: Non consensual sexual activity toward someone (man, woman, or child.) I define nonconsent as 1.) unconscious 2.) saying no 3.) fighting back or other ‘constructive’ displays of nonconsent 4.) acquiesced by duress ie. including but not limited to threat of greater bodily harm like death, shame, threats towards family, or being maimed 5.) statutorily too young to consent.

David, Exactly what I’m saying is that “statutorily too young to consent” means that she could have consented–that is, said “yes” and been a willing participant in the sex–but society won’t allow her to consent because of society’s violent rhetoric and hysteria against children consenting to sex. The right of a human being to consent should not be ruled out just because they are 11. And that is why this case must be looked at very carefully. Even if she said “yes,” to claim that her age bars her from giving consent is a crime against human dignity. The fact… Read more »

My argument is not about political correctness. It is about being factual, which Sam’s piece was not. I’ll grant you that parts of the statutory rape law are unfair (at least here in Mass where I live). For instance, if a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl have consensual sex, only the male can be charged with statutory rape. That is, of course, absurd and archaic. But that’s a far cry from an 11-year-old being able to consent to sex. Most kids that age haven’t even gone through puberty yet, and I don’t think there’s an argument out there that… Read more »

“Joseph is making a joke at the girls expense so much at making a joke about the term “orgy” being used to describe her rape. I could be wrong, but that’s what I got from his comments. Not that he was joking about her rape but that he was making a commentary on the silliness of using the word “orgy” to describe what was clearly a hate crime against a little girl.”

Joseph was responding to a post by Jace, who called the rape a “consensual” “orgy,” and whose comment was deleted. Sorry for the confusion.

Sam, “However, instead of bringing attention to a serious problem—that 50 percent of rapes go unreported—” Actually. MAN more rapes go unreported because almost NO prison rapes are reported and when a woman rapes a man it is RARELY reported and when it is the man or boy who was raped is NOT classed as a victim of a crime. So thanks for pointing out this number but it is FAR too low. And when are you going to write about rape where MEN are the victims as is the case in the VAST MAJORITY of rapes. We don’t have… Read more »

It is so discouraging to see story after story like this. 11 year old raped then blamed, campus rapist not expelled “because rape is a teachable moment”, University of Notre Dame under investigation for not looking into reported rapes.

People say the womens moment is over, but we are *far* from an equal society. Men *have* to carry the torch on this one. I am so thankful for the Good Men Project and their work toward fueling dialogue.

As shocked as I am regarding this crime, as a father of a 13 yearl old girl , I am extremely interested in knowing what people, places, and activities to avoid in order to keep her safe. The determinination of guilt and innocence and any punnishment is important but that is something other people will have to decide.

The GMP fails to understand that the media organizations that are pointing out the girl’s behavior and dress are providing a wake-up call to girls and their parents, and that is of course assuming she is being raised in other than a single other household (smh). Such households have a far higher incidence of young girls getting pregnant, catching an STD, joining gangs, and dropping out of school. This article claims that America has a ‘rape-culture’ and attempts to shame all males by association for having out of control sexuality. The men I know are honorable, decent, responsible, and don’t… Read more »

Many of you think it’s constructive to imply that 11-year-olds deserve blame for their own rapes when they wear makeup. OK. Not surprised. Especially considering I just trashed a comment that said that despite the fact that the victim, who was 11, was threatened with a beating if she didn’t comply, the event wasn’t actually rape, it was an “orgy of consensual sex.” The prevailing attitude is that every time rape is in the news, it’s demonizing men. So maybe you’ll concede that the real issue is the idea of victim culpability, which perpetuates the idea that male sexuality is… Read more »

I wish I could thumb this up a thousand times It’s horrific what happened to this CHILD. I don’t really give a shit what she was wearing, how much makeup she had on, or whether she was ASKING them to have sex with her…she is a child, and that’s the bottom line for me. These men were obviously deviant, and NOT representative of ALL, or most, or likely even a significant percentage of men; but painting her in the media as some Lolita has the misleading effect of ALSO painting men (not only the ones who raped her, but ALL… Read more »

If I decide to the walk through through a poverty stricken ghetto flashing cash I’m going to get robbed and killed. It’s that simple. There are areas where groups of dangerous, violent and sociopathic young men congregate. If you walk through these areas alone at night and dressed like a prostitute you’re going to attract a certain type of attention. Wanna call that blaming the victim? Fine. I’m not saying the rapists aren’t to blame or shouldn’t be punished, they absolutely should be, but it’s idiotic to fail to learn the lesson that certain behaviors can lead to certain outcomes.… Read more »

Carolos: “You don’t need to a GED to figure out that if you dress and act like a slut people will treat you like one.” So Carlos, based on your comments, does that mean your calling the 11 year old girl a “slut”? Because it’s quite interesting to me that out of all the people in this crime, you’ve chosen to direct a name to the only victim in it. This is so absolutely fasciniating. You’ve targeted the only vicitim of the crime and dared associate her with being a “slut”, while the men that actually committed the crime, go… Read more »

I would question the term ‘deliberately’ when in reference to an 11 year old girl.

Yes perhaps deliberately in that she is emulating what she is seeing her mother/mother figure/sisters or peers are doing or wearing, but deliberate as in with the intention to garner sexual attention with the full understanding of what that entails? Idk…..

I say all rape is bad. Rape of little girls, rape of little boys, rape of women and rape of men. You seem to think only the rape of little boys and men are worth talking about because even on a topic about the rape of a young girl, you can only talk about what happens to men. I am under no deluded victim mentality that because rapes are committed against men or women, that lessens the rape of either gender to the other when one situation is talked over another. You *still* have no comments, no words for the… Read more »

The NYT article was critical of “blame the victim” talk in the victim’s community. The author of the NYT article cannot criticise something without mentioning it. This attempt to twist another journalist’s work so that it fits an agenda of hate is the worst kind of yellow journalism. This inflammatory and misleading report by Sam McCann is a sad attempt to twist the truth in order to promote the author’s own agenda of division. The rape culture he speaks of is non-existent, and the NYT report was both accurate and sensitive to the victim. Sam’s hate agenda is for all… Read more »

Sam: Get a clue. Don’t talk about shoddy journalism and then misrepresent things yourself. McKinley didn’t suggest the victim provoked the rape. He was quoting unnamed sources who live in the area. He clearly stated in his story there was only one neighbor who would go on the record, and he quoted her too. Because that’s his job. When something like that happens, you go and talk to the people there. It’s not up to McKinley to doctor what they say or couch it in a favorable light. His job is to capture the mood of neighbors. And that’s what… Read more »

As I understand it, one of the _NYT_ editors did issue a statement a few days later more or less conceding that the tone of the article may have been a little misleading. It was not a full-blown apology, from what I understand, but it did suggest the original author was not quite in tune with _NYT_ journalistic guidelines.

Scott: the piece you’re referring to is by the NYT’s ombudsman. He’s not an editor, although he did quote an editor. As a reporter, its always best to get both sides. And maybe the reporter did talk to people concerned for the victim, but they wouldn’t go on the record. I don’t know. But my point is part of this story was obviously community reaction. And it seems a good portion of the community is casting some blame on the victim and/or feeling sorry for the alleged perpetrators. Is that a little sick? I think so. But if that’s the… Read more »

If the only community opinion the reporter could find is that the victim brought her rape on herself, he could have pointed out the objective fact that the community’s full of monstrously wrong-headed victim blamers.

Reporters are not allowed to insert their opinions in a news story. So even if he feels that way (Lord knows I would) he can’t say that. He can try to find someone in the community to say that, but he absolutely cannot say it himself.

David: In no way whatsoever am I affiliated with the MRA. I have ZERO ties with the MRA. You call my reaction knee-jerk and then tie me in with a group I have no relation to at all? You’re the definition of knee-jerk. I’m not defending the idiotic people who truly believe this victim brought it on herself. I’m defending the journalist and because I’m a newspaper reporter myself, I’m trying to explain the problem with all the inaccuracies reported in this GMP article. You have to consider reporters are on deadline. Are there people sympathetic to the crime in… Read more »

What I don’t understand, in the original NYT story and the various blogs jumping all over McKinley (as they rightfully should), what her age really has to do with it, aside from the facts that it makes the story more sensational and it likely serves to increase the trauma factor for the victim. She was asking for it because she was dressed like, and told others, she was an 18 year old? It it acceptable to gang-rape a woman who is 18? 28? 58? Forget her behaviour or what she was wearing or where she was, those factors alone aren’t… Read more »

i wish more people were saying this. If she didn’t consent, it doesn’t matter what her age is. It’s just at 11 years of age, there’s no possibility of consent even if she was actually literally begging for it, which she wasn’t; the assailants had to coerce her with threats of violence. And if she was begging for it, at 11 years old, that would just indicate she was probably being abused and in need of legal and psychological help.

Many of your points are good, but you misread McKinley’s question – like many others did- as a question posed by McKinley to NYT readers. It’s clear from the sentence before that one that the question is one posed by members of the community. He is reporting on community members’ victim-blaming, not doing any himself. Criticism that the reporting was unbalanced, and should have included community members’ non-blaming perspectives are valid, but accusing the reporter of victim-blaming is the result of lazy reading.

Where was the man who was supposed to protect her? I’m talking about her father. The lack of fathers in the African American community is destroying us. I am an African American woman who grew up without one and I am one of the few women from that community determined not to let my own children be in the same situation.

This girl wasn’t just gang raped, she was deprived of an essential figure in a child’s development. Studies show that girls without fathers are much more likely to have negative sexual experiences with men.

Kate,
her father was, most likely, removed from the house by a lying mother. Just like I was.

Where are the women who will hold women accountable for their crimes? Nowhere to be seen. THAT’s where they are Kate. I’ve been asking women to assist me for three years. ONE is willing. Not very ‘equal’ at all. I now take no notice of western women. They have proven they are a liability and have no sense of justice.